1999

1999 witnesses the launch of PiCK UP!, Bahlsen’s first countline, into Germany, Austria and France, with a major investment in machinery, advertising and promotion.

The division of the Bahlsen Group into the segments of “sweet” and “snacks” leads to three independent incorporations: Bahlsen (sweet biscuit), Lorenz (snacks), and a third corporation that integrates the brands Kelly and Wernli, real estate and financial services.

During the war Bahlsen employed forced labor. They worked under the same conditions and received the same wages and social benefits as their German colleagues. Nevertheless, the company faces the moral obligation and joins the foundation “Stiftungsinitiative der deutschen Wirtschaft für die Entschädigung ehemaliger Zwangsarbeiter in Deutschland in der Zeit des zweiten Weltkrieges” – a foundation of the German economy for the compensation of former forced laborers.